Fire Growth Analysis of the Fire of March 20, 1990, Pulaski Building, 20 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC.
Fire Growth Analysis of the Fire of March 20, 1990,
Pulaski Building, 20 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, DC.
(2230 K)
Nelson, H. E.
NISTIR 4489; 51 p. June 1994.
Sponsor:
Department of Army, Washington, DC
Available from:
National Technical Information Service
Order number: PB94-205952
Keywords:
office buildings; fire investigatios; fire models; fire
spread; flashover; fire spread
Abstract:
An analysis of an office building fire was made using
fire modeling techniques. The data to conduct the
analysis was obtained through on-site inspection and
interviews. The analysis describes a rapid fire
developing in easily ignited boxing materials that
flashed over in about six minutes from flame initiation,
causing failure of the ceiling system, venting of fire
products in the plenum system above the ceiling, and
rapid filling of the entire flow area with smoke. The
report suggests a likely source of ignition and provides
analysis of the impact that several fire protection
systems would have had were they present at the time of
this fire.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899